Author Topic: Part 2: Any hardware flaws with THIS system? (Read 652 times)

Ripsnort · « **on:** September 05, 2002, 07:55:30 AM »

Please note my notes in ( ) after each item. Bloom and others said the other system I had chosen looked sour, comments on this one please.

MICROSOFT WINDOWS XP PROFESSIONAL
CPU:AMD XP 2000
ASUS 266FSB Motherboard, USB
Koolance PC2-C Liquid Cooling Case with Clear Side Pannel, Neon Light Kit
Infineon 512mB 266Mhz DDR DIMM
IBM 7200RPM 40GB HDD (Will swap with a Western Digital)
GeForce2 MX 64MB Video (Will ask for no video card, as I have a Geforce 3)
3D Sound, 1.44MB FDD (Is this onboard sound?)
56K V.90 Modem
10/100 Fast Ethernet (Don't need this, will ask to leave out)
Samsung 24x10x40 CDRW (Not concerned about the speed of this, computer used for only AH.)
Powered Speakers (Will replace with my Cambridges)
Logitech Wheel Mouse

OR....

AMD Athlon XP 2100+
Asus A7V-333 333MHz FSB Motherboard, USB
512MB PC-2700MHz DDR
Western Digital 80GB 7200RPM ATA 100 Hard Drive
Geforce 3 128MB Video
3D Sound (6 Channel), 1.44MB FDD
D-Link 10/100M Fast Ethernet
Plextor 40x12x40 CDRW
16x DVD
1.44MB Floppy Drive
Creative Inspire 4400 Speakers
Logitech Optical Mouse
Logitech Internet Keyboard
Microsoft Windows XP PRO
Inwind 300W Case

(I know I can build one component for component cheaper, but I neither have the time nor hardware experience to do so.)

Eagler · « **Reply #1 on:** September 05, 2002, 08:36:14 AM »

very close to my current system benchmarked here:
http://www.hitechcreations.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=61262

cept I don't have the see through homo case

Ripsnort · « **Reply #2 on:** September 05, 2002, 08:41:37 AM »

LOL, see thru homo case.

Roscoroo · « **Reply #3 on:** September 05, 2002, 10:24:33 AM »

Take a close look which motherboard it is for there are 4 models of the asus 266 board ... this one Asus A7N266-E has a built in vga card (GF2 128mb ) and i believe 1 or 2 of the other 266 boards have this ... I'd get some other opinions here about this and if your expecting to "swap" video cards ... well it could be alittle difficult .

I think the Asus A7N266-C is the board without the built in vide:D

My Hole in the wall PC store at my end of town . / Lynnwood "theres a great looking Blond that works in there also"

Just in case you want to component/price check ^^^^^

(I think this system should be around 700ish unless ur getting a monitor or a ti 4600 VC w/ it ) Hope this helps .

Ok u post editor LOL .... I like the second system with the asus A7V333 MB I think you have a winner with this one !!

Ripsnort · « **Reply #4 on:** September 05, 2002, 10:37:41 AM »

Thks Roscoroo! I'm always looking to save some $$! Will check them out.

Ripsnort · « **Reply #5 on:** September 05, 2002, 01:41:52 PM »

Okay, I ended up going with this, but I have 24 hours to back out...

AMD Athlon XP 2100+
Asus A7V-333 333MHz FSB Motherboard, USB
512MB PC-2700MHz DDR
Western Digital 80GB 7200RPM ATA 100 Hard Drive
Geforce 3 128MB Video(I have my own, so price subtracted)
3D Sound (6 Channel), 1.44MB FDD
D-Link 10/100M Fast Ethernet
Plextor 40x12x40 CDRW
16x DVD
1.44MB Floppy Drive
USRobotics model 2600 56k modem V.90
Creative Inspire 4400 Speakers (Have my own, so price is subtracted)
Logitech Optical Mouse
Logitech Internet Keyboard
Microsoft Windows XP PRO
Inwind 300W Case

214thCavalier · « **Reply #6 on:** September 05, 2002, 01:46:39 PM »

Thats the one to get Rip.

Ripsnort · « **Reply #7 on:** September 05, 2002, 02:00:01 PM »

Thks Cav, though its gonna cost me more having a pre-built system ($1020) than doing it myself (Roughly $700), its worth it to me..

jonnyb · « **Reply #8 on:** September 05, 2002, 02:44:30 PM »

you definitely made the better choice by going with the Asus 333 based system. The 266 is getting a little long in the toorh. The pc2700 ram will be faster than the 266 counterpart. The processor is faster.

Much better choice

Ripsnort · « **Reply #9 on:** September 05, 2002, 02:46:43 PM »

Thks for the replies guys, this one HAS to last me 2 years without upgrades, I spent alittle extra to make sure of it...

Animal · « **Reply #10 on:** September 05, 2002, 03:03:12 PM »

Rip, the 300w power supply *MIGHT* not be enough later, so watch out.

Eagler · « **Reply #11 on:** September 05, 2002, 03:06:11 PM »

nice box

"Plextor 40x12x40 CDRW" <- the best here! Have a 24x and love it.

Ripsnort · « **Reply #12 on:** September 05, 2002, 03:10:32 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by Eagler
nice box

"Plextor 40x12x40 CDRW" <- the best here! Have a 24x and love it.

I said that to a co-worker, she slapped me.

bloom25 · « **Reply #13 on:** September 05, 2002, 11:44:35 PM »

That looks good Ripsnort. I prefer the Asus A7N266-C board over the A7V333, but that's mainly for ease of use, proven stability record, and slightly lower cost. The A7V333 is a little bit faster board, it has a LOT of jumpers and options you can tweak with if you like doing that sort of thing. Some versions of that board also have Firewire, Raid, and USB 2.0 ports built on. The USB 2.0 is useful, but for you I doubt Raid is worth having. That system will certainly be much faster than that other system you almost bought...

The only potential hitch is that the Athlon XP 2700+ and will not be supported by any current Socket A boards. That means the fastest CPU that board can take (and any current Athlon board) will be the 2600+. (That is unless AMD releases future 266 MHz FSB Athlon XP cpus, but I'm not aware of any plans to do so.)

bloom25 · « **Reply #14 on:** September 05, 2002, 11:53:21 PM »

A couple more very minor things:

Is that WD hard drive a Special Edition or not? The SE versions have an 8 MB cache (vs 2 MB) and are typicially only about $10 more than the non-SE versions. They are somewhat faster than the non-SE versions (and a lot faster when repeatedly accessing the same files) and if the cost difference is minimal I'd say to go with an SE.

Second, PC2700 DDR Sdram will give you a very small performance advantage over PC2100 DDR Sdram. (5% or so in certain applications.) If you want to save a little money that would be the one area where you could do so if the price difference is significant. (It may not be right now, memory prices have been falling lately once again.) If it's not more than a $50 savings; I'd leave the PC2700.